


Dare to Be

by Rakath



Category: Degrassi, Degrassi: Next Class
Genre: Gen, Nondescript Nudity, Truth or Dare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-28
Updated: 2017-03-28
Packaged: 2018-10-12 01:11:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10478712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rakath/pseuds/Rakath
Summary: A small party at the Hollingsworth House, and a Truth or Dare game that gets a little... troubling for everyone.Content warning for nudity and wordy character study through their reactions.





	

Once again Mrs. Hollingsworth was away for a weekend, and this meant that the large and empty Hollingsworth House was a refuge for a strange collection of teenagers. Most did not even like each other, and honestly it was a statement on the hosts that they did not kill the guests that were specifically antagonistic in other situations.

And like with most gatherings they had turned to classic party fodder, games, but this time they started with Truth or Dare. The questions and challenges had been fairly safe, worst being Frankie asking Esme to tell them about her first time. Esme did bring that on herself, taunting Frankie about her lack of boyfriend, or sex, with Jonah in the room. Still this was probably the start toward this dare, and the end of this game.

“Dare,” Lola answered without any hesitation, or worry. As she looked around. Zig Novak was mostly a giant teddy bear, he looked mean but he was harmless most of the time. Honestly he spent so much time moping about girls he couldn’t come up with a really racy dare.

“I dare you to… give us all a sexy dance,” Zig smiled with a smug sense that this was the dare, he had done it. The perfect choice.

“Naked.” Esme added, smirking at the little blue haired latina.

“Woah, Lo’, you don’t have to do that,” Shay offered, getting ready to stand up but Frankie put a hand on her to keep her from raising to Esme’s bait.

“Yeah, Lo, you really don’t have to.” Frankie echoed. Various others mirrored the sentiment. Esme, however, had started nibbling on Zig’s neck and whispering to him.

“No, I’m adding that to my dare, naked.” Zig offered. It was obvious to everyone who had his strings in her well manicured fingers. But… was this really a surprise?

“I suppose if you want to chicken out you can keep your panties on? Something you picked out in Junior Miss?” Esme shot, head resting on Zig’s shoulder.

Lola handed her phone off to Grace, “Play this when I’m ready.” The shortest of the collected company slipped her shoes off and stood on the coffee table. What she did next could hardly be called a striptease. It lacked the teasing for the title, she simply removed every garment till she was down to a matched set of lingerie, which in turn was matched to her hair.

Lola locked eyes with Esme, her eyes never left the instigator’s gaze as she unhooked, removed, and dropped her bra to the floor. She ignored the reactions and responses of the crowd of friends seeing her in this state of dress. She kept her gaze locked as she let her panties fall down her legs, and kicked them off the table.

Only when she was completely nude did she turn and nod to Grace, who rolled her eyes and started the song for her. It had a beat meant to be danced to, nothing fancy, nothing frantic, it gave Lola the time to move her hips and arms and let her gaze fall on most of the party, letting her eyes and smile draw them in as if they were going to miss this. There were four people she ignored as she worked her gaze across the room. Goldi, simply because someone had her eyes covered and was waiting for this to end. Miles and Tiny to not… reopen old wounds. And Shay, that would just be weird.

Lola’s dancing lacked skill, lacked practice, and lacked a plan. She was however an extroverted socialite who loved attention so she was more than making up for it with charm, good looks, and working what she had. Overall, her actions and sultry looks put everyone into three general categories.

Those filled with desire, those filled with shame, and those filled with understanding.

The best summation for desire, generally, was ‘I want to be near her.’ Winston, Tiny, and Zig were filled with exactly the appropriate heterosexual lust for a naked girl dancing and trying to seduce the room. Tiny with a bit of guilt to wash it down, more about Lola being his ex than his girlfriend being in the room. 

Zig’s lack of guilt was not a problem, as Esme had a similar desire in her eye as she watched. Esme had thrown down a challenge, she expected Lola to back out, give her some ammunition to call the girl a child, mock her for anything attached. But not only did Lola match her challenge, she showed no fear or concern. And that, that was what drew Esme’s attention. Her desire wasn’t sexual, but if Lola was so brazen why wouldn’t Esme want to know her? Esme couldn’t even critique Lola’s missteps and poor choreography given her boldness.

The last in this group was Frankie, who was fairly certain she was straight until about six bars into the song, and then Lola swished her hip while staring into Frankie’s soul, Lola watched Frankie’s eyes move immediately from Lola’s own gaze, to her rear, then tried to cover it up by looking Lola in the eyes again. And Lola smiled, and winked, and Frankie knew for a fact that she was  _ not straight _ .

The second group was filled with shame. The thought was ‘why is this even happening.’ They blamed Lola, or themselves, or Esme. And wanted this to end so they could move onto anything else in the world. Food, Trig homework,  _ anything _ .

Goldi, naturally, was there when Lola’s shirt came off. Not that Goldi had never seen Lola naked. But Lola was naked with boys, and lesbians, and Lola was completely fine. And how could everyone here be of such thin moral character, and Goldi really wanted to leave.

Rasha and Grace were bothered by this situation, but didn’t really blame anyone. Lola could have said no, the group could have drawn a line on this, Esme could have been less of a bitch. But this was happening, Grace distracted herself minding the cell phones and if she’d need to beat anyone up for recording this. Rasha was worried if Zoe was watching a bit too closely, or if she was watching too closely, she didn’t know what to do with this. And she wanted to know if this was a normal thing for Canadian Teen Parties, because her American movies did  _ not _ have any of this.

Jonah’s shame was not about this situation, it was about himself. His mind was far away in another life. A life where his choices were far less okay, where what he did would horrify everyone here. He was thinking of another time a girl danced on the table. Well, what he remembered of it. He was high, she was high. He remembers flesh, and light, and music, and the bliss and abandon. He doesn’t remember her name, or what he did to her. If they used a condom, if she was on the pill, if she said yes. If he said yes. Or who started it? He does know it started with a girl, naked, dancing on a table to pay for her addiction. And he hates himself a little more than he did before this broken fractured half-memory came back to him.

Shay was keeping an eye on Tiny, but in her mind what Tiny did here, what Lola was doing here, it all fell on Esme. Esme did this on purpose, because she can’t let anyone be actually happy she has to make it all fall apart. Shay really wanted lightning to somehow strike Esme dead on the spot, indoors, just so this would end and so she didn’t have to see how intently Tiny watched Lola dance, and wiggle her big butt in his face.

The last group was only two people, and they realized something about who was in front of them they didn’t see before. ‘This is Lola,’ was the thought in their head, but their conclusions were different.

Miles had seen Lola naked before, he’d seen her dance around the pool in a bikini (which was only moderately more coverage). He’d seen her work a room of people to pay attention to her, what was new was that he didn’t know how brave she was until now. He just… didn’t pick up on it. He’d paid attention when she seemed small, and scared, and worried. About nothing that mattered, but he hadn’t noticed how she could just face off with anything and not blink. 

He’s suddenly thinking about the day after her video, the one that was his fault and he didn’t even give her the time to tell him. People talked, oh did they talk, some were supportive, but most were not. Or worse they were supportive until Lola turned the corner. He’d watched, like the protagonist in a Police song, from a distance. And Lola faced the day undaunted. She had to know, but she didn’t show it. Now he knew why.

Zoe Rivas was the other to see Lola in a new light. To Zoe, the little pink midget was an idiot, a tool for gossip and a test case for trying to talk to anyone else. What Zoe saw, was Lola’s power. Lola varied her expressions, her looks, her approaches as she gave most of the room a glance and a flirt. Lola had a better grasp on what people wanted than Zoe ever did. Zoe assumed, she schemed, she studied. Lola just knew.

If Lola wanted it, Lola could have had that school under her thumb. Zoe was very grateful Lola was without any ambition. No desire for revenge, no urges for control. Whatever harm Lola did was an accident, or a tantrum, there was no malicious intentions, no grand schemes. She was glad she underestimated Lola for so long, the old her would have weaponized this in a second.

Zoe wandered out of the room as the song neared its end and went to the hall closet. She went through what was there and smiled at what she found. As Zoe came back with her claim Miles arched an eyebrow, then smirked. The song ended, Lola stopped, and Zoe put the fur coat on the small woman’s shoulders, Lola slipped her arms into the sleeves and wrapped it closed to cover herself. She ended with a smile and a glance at Esme again as she hopped off the table, coat flaring up but not enough to… you know, modesty really isn’t a factor at this moment. Still, it didn’t show anything.

“You are nuts,” Zoe whispered to Lola as they went to sit down, Rasha between them. Her voice returned to its usual command and volume as she addressed the room, “So… Esme, Truth or Dare?”

It was at this moment Esme realized she was screwed. Fortunately the tension on the room broke with a single concern that caused the room to erupt into laughter.

It came from Goldi. There was a brief moment of hesitation, before she asked, “Please tell me Lola is wearing something under that coat.”


End file.
